Misinterpretations of the Heart
by pokemon maniac
Summary: Ah, Valentine's Day. A day of love, candies, cards, and drama. But for Maka, it's always been a day of heartbreak. When Liz decides to step up and move things along, what will happen to Maka and Soul's relationship? SoMa. Fluff Eater.


Misinterpretations of the Heart

"Ugh…I don't know what to say to her! I have to tell her how I feel! Only two days to Valentine's Day! I have to tell her…It may be my only chance."

A boy sat alone at his desk, agonizing what to write on a pale sheet of paper that awaited him. The laughing moon seemed amused by his struggles through his window. Frustrated, he decided to pace his room.

"I have to sound like I mean it. She's made her disinterest in me very plain, but I can't ignore these feelings any longer! She must know!"

Inspired, he plopped down into his seat and wrote feverishly.

The following day, Soul Eater Evans was walking through the halls of Shibusen. School had been let out, and his partner and most of their friends had already gone home. He was just getting ready to leave when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Soul Eater!" one of his classmates called out to him.

"What is it, Ox?" he asked as the boy approached.

"I have to leave," he panted, "but I need this to go…to _her _desk."

Soul sighed. "Still chasing after Kim, huh?"

Ox looked at him pleadingly. "Please, just put it on her desk so she sees it in the morning."

"Fine," Soul agreed reluctantly, taking the envelope held out to him.

"Thank you!" Ox raced down the hall in the direction he had come.

Soul glared at the envelope. It looked like a normal envelope, which Soul was just a little surprised by. Knowing Ox, he'd thought it would be all pink, covered with hearts and the words "My Dearest Kim".

Taking his time, Soul trudged toward the classroom. He was met on the way by Liz.

"Hey Soul. What are you still doing here?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I'm looking for Patty. She always runs off on me and I have to spend hours finding her."

Soul grinned. "Sounds like fun."

"Feh, yeah right." She seemed to notice the letter for the first time. "What's that?"

Soul raised the letter up for her scrutiny. "It's from Ox. He wants me to put it on _a special someone's_ desk so she gets it in the morning."

"Kim would just reject it if he gave it to her in person, right?" Liz asked.

"Yeah."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Liz broke the silence. "If you want to go on home, I can take care of that for you."

Soul raised an eyebrow. Being nice just didn't really fit Liz. Not unless she had something to gain. Liz huffed.

"Can't I just do something nice for once without everyone questioning me?"

"No."

"Fine. Do it yourself." She started to walk away. He thought for a moment about how much he wanted to just get home already, and he gave in.

"Liz!"

She looked at him over her shoulder, her facial expression smug. "Yes?"

"Could you put this on her desk for me?"

She walked back to him and took the letter. "Will do. I'll make sure this ends up on the lucky girl's desk."

Soul still wasn't comfortable leaving the letter with someone as devilish as Liz, and it didn't help that she had that gleam in her eye.

Feeling uneasy, Soul headed home.

"Now, what to do with this little treasure?" Liz contemplated, staring hungrily at the letter in her hands. Who cares about finding Patty? She knew how to get home. Right now the only thing Liz needed to worry about was the letter that held near infinite possibilities. Carefully, without tearing the outside, Liz opened the letter.

After reading it, rereading it, and rereading it again, laughing to herself all the while, she formed a plan. It was a devious plan, but then, what other kind of plan was suitable for a deva like herself?

"Oh, Pattyyyyyy!" she sing-songed.

Her sister seemed to appear as if from thin air. "Yeah, sis?"

"Wanna help me spread some Valentine's love?" Liz held up the card, showing her sister the wording on the inside. Patty grinned evilly.

"I wonder if I made the right choice?" Soul thought aloud as he walked home, the sun just touching the horizon. He shrugged. "What can one little love letter do?" He unlocked the door to the apartment, kicking his shoes off as he entered.

"Ahem."

Soul looked to see where the voice came from. A very displeased-looking blonde was standing before him. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, a spatula in her hand.

"What is it, Maka?"

"Soul, how many times do I have to tell not to leave your shoes in the hall? I trip over those huge things!"

"I'll leave 'em where I want."

"Not if you want dinner," she threatened, her green eyes flashing with triumph.

Soul huffed and scooped his shoes off the floor, trudging to his room. Maka returned to making dinner. As he threw his shoes haphazardly into his room, he remarked, "Smells like breakfast."

"It is."

"For dinner? Seriously?"

She stared at him for a moment. "What, haven't you ever had breakfast for dinner?"

Soul shook his head. He'd grown up in a very proper household, so they always ate strictly dinner-foods at dinner time.

"Well, you can't say that anymore," Maka chirped happily. Soul had no idea why she seemed so cheerful, but it beat her angry mood swings that involved him getting plenty of literature to the face.

As they ate dinner-breakfast, they chattered aimlessly about their days. Maka did most of the talking, the way she always did. Afterwards, Maka disappeared into her room while Soul took his turn doing the dishes.

As he scrubbed a plate, he became lost in his thoughts, thinking about Valentine's Day. There were plenty of girls at school that would love to get a card or something from him, he knew. However, there was only one girl that he had any interest in, though he tried to hide it.

From that point in his thoughts on, his train of thought hovered almost exclusively around Maka Albarn, his partner and constant companion. He'd realized that he loved her after she started hanging around Death the Kid a lot last summer. They were almost inseparable, those two. It hurt for reasons he couldn't explain every time he saw them together. Every time Kid made her laugh, Soul wanted to punch him. Every time Kid came into contact with her, whether on purpose or by accident, Soul wanted to shove him away. Soul became overly protective of her and obsessed over her almost as much as her father. When she pointed that out, he backed off. But then he knew.

It was a startling revelation, but it was the only explanation. He couldn't tell her, of course. She was all too prone to smashing her favorite books into his face to have any feelings for him. Constant abuse wasn't really a way of saying "I like you" that most girls used.

Yet another Valentine's would pass, seemingly unnoticed. Soul would notice, of course. He'd notice how Maka would treat it like a regular day, not giving him a second glance when someone asks if she has a special someone, the way she does every year. He didn't dare tell her, especially the way someone like Ox frequently tells Kim, because he didn't want to drive her away.

Yup. This Valentine's would be as heartbreaking as all the others.

"—high of 4 degrees Deathenhight on this fabulous day, Friday the 14th of February. Wrap up, lovebirds, because it's going to be a cold one." SMACK! The alarm went silent.

Maka yawned and stood up slowly, examining her calendar. February 14th. Valentine's Day was here again. And once again, the one guy she'd like to get something from would disappoint her. She really shouldn't even expect anything, she scolded herself. Seeing as she was always hitting him with stuff, it was understandable that he wouldn't have any romantic interest in her. Her special albino friend would ignore her again.

Maka started making breakfast. She became so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Soul sat down across the table from her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Maka jumped. "Huh? Me? Oh…I'm fine."

Soul didn't look convinced, but it seemed he had something bugging him too, so they both went silent.

Maka became even more involved in her thoughts. It got to the point where she was going strictly off of routine. Without thinking about it, she accidently left for school without Soul. She reached her classroom before realizing he wasn't there.

"Crap," she said as she smacked her forehead with a palm. "Too late now, I suppose. Hope he doesn't get mad at me for leaving him behind."

She walked slowly to her desk, still mostly lost in thought. As she sat down, she dimly became aware of a piece of paper on her desk. She toyed with it while she sighed. She glanced down at the paper. It wasn't just regular paper. It was a letter.

"Huh?" It finally hit her what that meant. A letter. To her. On Valentine's Day.

Excitement and anxiety bubbling up inside her, Maka carefully opened the envelope. She pulled out the card with shaking fingers. She flipped it open and read the inside.

Dearest Maka,

I can't bear to be apart from you. My heart pounds at the mere sight of your beautiful green eyes. I find myself staring at your beautiful face whenever you're in the same room as I. It is clear you harbor no feelings for me, but I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Please, consider being my Valentine and my Queen, though you are already my Angel.

Love, Soul

Maka's heart stopped. The world spun. She reread the card again and again, but it didn't make it make more sense. Liz strolled by her seat.

"Hey Maka. What'cha got there?" Liz read the card over Maka's shoulder. She gasped. "He actually wrote you a note!? Wow, I didn't think he had it in him."

"It…it has to be some mistake!" Maka stammered, still staring at the paper in her hands in disbelief.

Liz made a _tsk-tsk_ sound. "Nope. No mistake. I ran into him yesterday after school. You know how he got home late, right?"

Maka nodded. "He said he would catch up with me later."

"Well, he said he needed to put a letter on a '_special someone's' _desk so she got it first thing in the morning."

Maka stared at her, green eyes wide in shock. Liz nodded. "Mm-hmm. No joke."

Maka was dumbstruck. "Soul…wrote this? For me? I…"

Just at that moment, Soul walked into the classroom. Maka made an involuntary squeak and hid her face in a book. Liz sighed and walked to her seat. When he sat down next to her, Maka didn't dare look at his face. She hid the letter in the pages of her book so he wouldn't see it. She had to talk to him about this, right? She wasn't supposed to hide things from her partner. But from the looks of it, they'd both been hiding something all this time.

"Soul—" Maka started. She was cut off by the bell ringing to indicate class starting. Soul peered at her, trying to see her face as she tried to hide in her book.

"Alright, everybody take a seat," Stein drawled in monotone at the front of the class. "Maka, put the book away for now."

"R-right!" She hastily shoved the book away from her. Soul noticed she was acting strangely, she could tell. But she would think it'd be expected for her to act a little odd after a letter like that. Maka tried to collect her thoughts.

Why had he left the note on her desk? He could've given it to her in person. No, he wouldn't do that. She knew him as well as he would allow, and she knew that he didn't have the self-confidence to hand it directly to her. Though if he had handed it to her it might've made talking to him about it a bit easier.

Maka agonized over the letter so much that she didn't even notice the bell signaling lunch time. Soul had to nudge her to get her attention.

"Hey, bookworm, time to go," he said.

His hand was on her arm, and she suddenly felt heat rise to her face. "Right. See you there!" She took off from her seat, leaving him behind. She walked through the hallway so fast and her thoughts went so much faster that before she knew what had happened she was lost.

"Great. Now how the heck did I get here?" She turned corners, crossed intersections, and passed strangely decorated doors, but there wasn't a single sign of life anywhere. Growing desperate, she started to run. She flew around a corner and collided with something.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" she apologized.

"Lost your way?" a male voice asked.

Maka looked up. "Oh, sorry Professor Stein. I…I can't find the cafeteria."

Stein smiled. Though it looked friendly, Maka doubted it was sincere. "These corridors certainly get confusing at times. As a matter of fact, I'm heading there myself."

The thought of being alone with Stein made Maka's skin crawl just a little, knowing his tendency to dissect people. But what other choice did she have? She couldn't find the classroom, or cafeteria, or an exit for that matter. She just kept passing door after door after door after door, and none of them led where she wanted to go. Reluctantly, she followed Stein.

Only two or three minutes later, they were in the cafeteria. Maka thanked her teacher and went to sit with her friends.

As she plopped into her seat, Soul asked, "Where've you been?"

"I, uh, went sightseeing." She internally cringed. What kind of excuse was that?

"What, did you get lost or something?" Black*Star teased.

Maka's face burned. "No!"

"Then why's your face all red?"

"It is not!"

"Is to."

"Is not!"

"Is to."

Black*Star shut up momentarily as a sizable book met his face at high speeds. With a frustrated huff, Maka tried to hide herself in the book after it left Black*Star's face.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" Tsubaki asked.

"Not hungry," Maka answered, trying to not sound embarrassed or angry when she was both.

"So," Liz started. "Anybody get any love letters today?"

Maka stared at her in horrified shock as Patty said cheerfully, "I heard that one of us did!"

Tsubaki and Soul gained an interest. "Really? Who?" Tsubaki asked.

Liz opened her mouth, and it was suddenly filled with paper. Everyone turned to stare at Maka as Liz fell to the floor, Maka's book still pressed into her face. Liz scrambled back into her chair, seemingly unperturbed by Maka's outburst. "As I was saying, one of us _did_ get a love letter."

Everyone dismissed Liz being attacked since she clearly wasn't bothered by it. Maka frantically tried to think of a way to shut Liz up. She didn't want to confront Soul about the letter yet! She was saved once more by the bell. Everyone stood up, Liz looking as determined as ever to deliver her news. Maka grabbed Soul's hand and started dragging him in the direction of the classroom.

"Waaaah?"

"We have to get there early!" Maka told him as she desperately tugged his arm.

"Why can't we walk with them like we do every day?" he complained.

"They walk too slow. C'mon!"

"Fine."

Clearly annoyed, Soul matched her pace. They were the first people back into the classroom, and Maka sat down with a contented sigh. Once everyone got back it would be time for class. She had a few moments to just breathe until then.

"Maka, what's this about?" Soul asked.

She suddenly realized that by bringing Soul with her, she'd only slowed the inevitable. He wouldn't hear that she'd gotten his letter when Liz told everyone else, but he had to know. She then realized that they were completely alone. No one could interrupt or make fun of them right now.

"Soul, I—" she started to say.

"What are you two doing in here so early?"

Maka jumped and Soul said, "Oh hey, Professor Stein. I don't really know why we're here so early. Maka dragged me here."

Stein raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, it is Valentine's Day, so perhaps she has something to tell you?"

Soul turned a little pink. "Huh?"

"Perhaps I'm wrong." Stein had that look in his eye, that look that said "these specimens are going to be fun to study". Maka shivered.

They were saved from the awkward conversation when the doors opened and students flooded back into the classroom. Liz, Patty, Kid, Black*Star, and Tsubaki were all chatting intently. Black*Star pointed at Maka and Soul and opened his big mouth to shout something when Patty and Liz restrained him. They dragged him all the way to his seat before releasing him.

"That was…weird," Soul commented. Maka tensed when she realized he was right behind her. He was so close she could hear his breathing. "What're they talking about, you think?" In an attempt to eavesdrop, Soul leaned over her shoulder. She was relieved when Stein commanded everyone to sit down and listen. Periodically, Maka would glance in Black*Star's direction, only to get a smug look and a kissy face the time he caught her staring. Blushing, Maka swore she'd get him back later.

When the final bell rang, their friends started to converge on Soul and Maka. Knowing what they were going to talk to them about, Maka once again tried to drag Soul away from them. He let her, though he complained loudly. She never stopped or turned back even once the entire way home. She only released her grip on Soul's wrist when she had safely locked the door behind them.

"Maka, what's going on? Why are you avoiding our friends?" Soul asked.

Maka sighed. She had to confront him, but she wanted to make sure he didn't hear it from someone else first. "Look, I was the one who got the…the love letter."

Soul raised an eyebrow. "Really? Who from?"

He sounded genuinely surprised, which confused Maka a little bit. Regardless, she forged on. "I…I know we've been partners a long time, and I always knew there was something you weren't telling me, but I never imagined—"

"Just spit it out. Who sent the letter?"

"You already know, Soul." She didn't get why he was so confused.

"I do?" was his bewildered reply.

Impatient, she whipped out the letter and showed it to him as proof. He read the first line or so, almost laughing, then when he reached the bottom, his smile dropped. He read it again, and his face started turning red.

"What the…?" he asked. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"What do you mean?"

Soul face-palmed. "Liz! I knew I should've gone and delivered it myself!"

"Soul," Maka said, her rage building, "what are you talking about? What does Liz have to do with this?"

"This…I didn't write this! Ox wanted me to leave a letter for Kim on her desk but I got lazy and asked Liz to take care of it and she swapped the names so it looks like I…" He stopped to catch his breath and wait for her to understand his meaning.

When it sank in, it hurt. It hurt a lot. "Oh."

"Yeah. I didn't write this. Ox did." He examined her face. "What's wrong?"

"Maka CHOP!"

"What the hell was that for!?" Soul demanded.

Tears started to sting Maka's eyes. "Jerk! Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"I didn't know you got the letter! How could I have known?"

Trying to not show her face and betray her feelings to him, she started to storm away

"Maka, why are you acting like this?" Soul asked her as he grasped her wrist. She didn't turn to face him.

She waited to answer, not trusting her voice to not crack. "I thought that maybe…just…I…Valentine's Day was always so painful, every time it passed, and then this year I thought you finally…" She couldn't get her voice to work. Even if she could, she couldn't get the right words.

Soul was silent, processing her words. "You mean you _wanted _that letter to be from me?"

Maka knew this was dangerous territory. She was pretty sure he'd pieced it together by now, so there was no going back. She knew that everything they had was about to be destroyed, and tears spilled down her cheeks at the thought of him leaving. Slowly, she nodded.

Soul's grip on her wrist loosened with shock. Maka had a sinking feeling, realizing that he didn't feel the same way. Soul was no idiot. She'd known that from day one. He could tell what she was saying.

He let her go. "Geez, I never thought you'd like something as dumb as a love letter." Maka cringed, getting ready for him to say something about how he'd never waste time on someone as flat-chested as her. "But," he said as he turned her to face him. "Just because I didn't write it doesn't mean that I don't feel that way."

The look in his eyes made Maka's heartbeat accelerate, because he wasn't disgusted or angry; to the contrary, he was overjoyed.

"You mean?" she whispered. Soul nodded. He started to get fidgety when he realized they were standing only a few inches apart. She got nervous too, but she decided that they'd gone too far to run away now. She wasn't giving up on this.

"Soul."

He focused on her. "Yeah?"

"Stop being so twitchy," she scolded gently.

"Hey, I have a right to be twitchy. Cool guys get twitchy too, you know."

She giggled. "Oh, do they?"

Soul seemed reassured by her teasing. He reached around her and pulled her close. She could feel his heart, pulsing in time with her own. She realized with a start that he was taller than her, and she had to look up slightly to see into his eyes. He leaned his forehead against hers, his arms around her waist, and she tentatively wrapped her arms around his neck. They stood that way for a moment, enjoying the fact that they could be this close at long last.

Without warning, he moved one of his hands to her cheek. His hand was warm, and she leaned into it. Taking this as his cue, Soul leaned in and kissed her. A knot of worry and anxiety melted in the pit of Maka's stomach the moment their lips touched. She didn't even know it was there until it was gone. She couldn't believe they'd gone all this time without realizing how the other felt.

Her hands worked into his hair, and his hand that had rested on her cheek moved to carefully remove her hair from one of her pigtails. They were clumsy and kept bumping noses, since first kisses are rarely neat and perfect. His hand, now finished untying her hair, tilted her head gently to change the angle, making it more comfortable for the both of them.

Soul broke the kiss. "I love you, Maka."

She couldn't even describe how impossibly happy his words made her. She looked him in the eye. "I love you too, Soul."

"**FINALLY!**" a third party screeched. The door was flung open and Liz, Patty, Kid, Black*Star, and Tsubaki walked in. "Took you two friggen long enough!" Black*Star exclaimed.

"I did my best, planting that letter and everything, but I never thought it would still take this long for you two to just confess!" Liz cried, exasperated.

Soul and Maka turned bright shades of red, distancing themselves from each other.

"I don't think so!" Patty cheered. She and her sister each grabbed one of the pair and pushed them back together.

"It's Valentine's Day! Be a happy couple, for once!" Liz commanded.

Soul and Maka looked at each other. Maka shrugged. They embraced each other again, Soul whispering, "They probably won't leave us alone until we kiss, right?" Maka nodded again, and they kissed. Their audience cheered and clapped.

"CAKE!" Patty announced, showing off a sizable cake in the shape of a heart. Where she'd previously kept it, no one was sure. The small uninvited party made their way to the table and started dividing the cake. As Maka started to join them, Soul stopped her.

"What is it?" she whispered so their friends wouldn't hear.

"Nothing. Just wanted to do this." He kissed her again; just a quick kiss to reiterate how much he cared about her, and then released her. She grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

They ate cake with everyone else while Black*Star yapped about how he'd known for years that they loved each other and if they'd only listened to the great Black*Star he could've given them some advice. But since they were dating now, he could give them his much-needed advice at long last.

Soul groaned with boredom. Maka squeezed his hand. "Just tune him out," she whispered in his ear.

"Thanks for the advice."

She lightly swatted his arm with her free hand. "Don't need to be mean."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a grin spreading across his face. He pulled her into a hug. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Soul."

"You know what us being together means, right?" he asked.

She stared at him. "What?" Seeing his serious expression, she laughed. "Oh, I see. You don't like me hanging around Kid as much as I do, right?"

He glared at her a little, and she smiled. "Don't worry. Albino's are apparently the only guys I'm interested in."

He smiled, and she thought it was the most genuine smile she'd ever seen on his face. He pulled her closer again. "And you're my only Angel," he whispered in her ear.

Suddenly remembering a promise she had made herself earlier, she turned away from Soul and snatched a book off the table. She flung it into Black*Star's face with all her force, sending the ninja out the window. She turned back to Soul.

"I feel much better now." She smiled innocently.

Soul laughed. "My _violent_ angel," he corrected. She scowled, and he added, "But I wouldn't have you any other way."


End file.
